A Coin for the Ferryman by Megan Edwards - A Fun Speculative Fiction Treatment About Meeting A Historical Figure

A Coin for the Ferryman by Megan Edwards

I received an advance review copy of this book and am leaving this review voluntarily. A Coin for the Ferryman is due for release March 2022 and is available for pre-order.

As I searched through the offerings on the BookSirens review site, the first thing that caught my attention to Ferryman was the cover. I have always been fascinated with ancient mythology and historical fiction, and this one promised to be a historical sci-fi story. The next thing that convinced me to download and read was the book’s blurb. Bringing a famous personality from history is not a new idea, but the treatment in this book is fun and fascinating, mostly because of some well-developed characters. The story itself is light on science fiction in that the method for bringing Caesar into the present is not explained to a large extent, which is okay because the story focuses more on characters and plot. Mostly, all we get for the science of the time travel is there is a place where there is a machine that can snatch someone from the past and bring them to the present.

If you had the means to bring a famous historical figure to the present day, who would you choose? How would you communicate? What questions would you ask? How much of the present would you let your choice see? Those are some questions facing an interdisciplinary team who build a time machine they plan to use in bringing Julius Caesar to the present.

Cassandra is one of the most important members of the team. Her job is to talk to the visitor in his own language and help him understand what is happening.

Caesar arrives just before his assassination and enters a world of modern wonders. The scientists have four days to return their charge to ancient Rome, so there isn't a minute to waste. If they cannot return him to his own time, there could be dire consequences.

While all the members of the team have signed a strict nondisclosure agreement, there are leaks and antagonists plot to kidnap Caesar for their own purposes. When the kidnapping comes to light, Cassandra takes it upon herself to protect the Roman ruler and takes him on a roller coaster ride through the modern world.

Cassandra is a brilliant young woman whose passion is ancient languages, particularly Latin. In order to fund her schooling, she works in Las Vegas as a call girl, barely making ends meet. A wealthy client learns of her interests, he became fascinated with her and rather than taking advantage of her as a call girl, gives her an all-expense paid endowment to finish her education. Cassandra takes full advantage of this opportunity and is chosen to be Caesar's interpreter when he arrives.

Cassandra is a level-headed, strong female character who has strengths she isn't even aware of. The circumstances of the story force her into rising above herself to improvise a plan to keep Caesar safe.

Julius Caesar is known for many things but getting to meet him in this story is a fun romp. At first, he is aloof, but as he warms to Cassandra, we get to see the modern works through his eyes which is my favorite point of plot in this tome.

So what would someone who lived two-thousand years ago think about the modern world? Especially the modern world of Las Vegas? One would think that Caesar would be overwhelmed, but in this story, I loved the way he just took everything in stride and fit in as best he could. The parts of the story dealing with the Roman ruler were amazing, imaginative, and a lot of fun.

Picture Caesar in sweatpants, t-shirt, tennis shoes, and topped off with a baseball cap. I had to laugh as I read some of his thoughts on fashion, both for men and women.

One of the funniest things was Caesar's fascination with television. He took to channel surfing like a pro. The story wasn't intended to be a comedy, but the lighter elements of the story for me were one of the things that kept me reading.

I have to say the author, Edwards, nailed this plot element, creating an enjoyable speculation of how Caesar might behave if brought into our time.

I recommend A Coin for the Ferryman as a well-written twist on an old idea that doesn't overwhelm the reader with a lot of technical writing to impede the story. This speculative/science fiction story is an enjoyable romp with some intense moments along with some lighter themes. The principal characters are captivating and convincing as real people. Even Caesar came to life for me through the imaginative writing.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author: 

I live and write in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada. I never dreamed I'd call Sin City home, but when I arrived at the end of 1999 to do a little research for a book, I fell in love with the city beyond the neon and never left. Actually, I love the neon, too. I'm crazy about the whole place - quirks, warts, super-hot summers, and all!

I write about “real life in the shadow of the Strip,” but what I like best is crafting fiction set here. I have two mysteries set in Las Vegas: Getting Off on Frank Sinatra, and Full Service Blonde. Both feature aspiring journalist Cooper Black. There’s a third Cooper Black mystery in the works, but before that is released, the book I came here to write in 1999 finally has a publication date.

A Coin for the Ferryman will come out on the Ides of March 2022. It’s the perfect release date, because one of the main characters is Julius Caesar.

Well, there it is...

Qapla!

The Apollo Murders By Chris Hadfield - It's Quite A Ride!

The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield

The Apollo Murders is a historical speculative science fiction story set in the Apollo era of American space flight. 

As a former NASA astronaut, Hadfield is intimately familiar with the workings of the space agency and this story is chock full of references to operations in both the US and Soviet space programs. While some may find these references a little distracting and even think those references are unnecessary to the story itself. I found the book well written and highly entertaining and am happy to say it is one of the best crafted stories I've ever read. The principal characters are fictitious and are fascinating, but one of the things I really appreciated were references to many real-life personalities that lived and worked in the space program during the 1970s. Names such as Chris Kraft, Gene Kranz, and Alan Shepard play major parts in Apollo Murders and they add authenticity and credibility to the tale.

It is the height of the Cold War, and the end of the Apollo program. Funding for the US exploration of the moon is going to move to other projects after the last moon landing. However, when US intelligence finds the Soviets have landed a rover on the moon and are planning to have a manned orbital spy platform, plans are made to fly Apollo 18, a military mission with two objectives. The first objective is to disable the spy platform in orbit before it is crewed, and the second is to land on the moon to learn what the Soviet rover has found or is looking for.

The prime crew is trained and ready to go a month before the mission, but a helicopter accident kills the mission commander, who is replaced by the backup. Further investigation finds the helicopter crash was not an accident. It was an extreme negligence of maintenance or sabotage.

As the mission moves forward, things go badly when a Soviet spy ship disguised as a fishing trawler notices the trajectory of the Saturn V launch vehicle is flying to the north of the normal path. The Soviets realize the Americans intend to rendezvous with their new space station. With that, the entire mission seems to off the rails.

The Soviets always seem to be a step ahead of the Americans. The question is, why? Or better yet, who is helping the Soviets win this chess game in space?

Hadfield includes a large cast of characters in this tale. Many of them are people we, who are familiar with the Apollo era, are familiar with. There are several characters who would appear 'behind the scenes' during coverage of a spaceflight during those times. One of the most prominent of those characters is Kazimieras Zemeckis, more commonly known to his friends as Kaz. He is a former test pilot who was on his way to becoming an astronaut until an accident cost him his left eye. In this story, Kaz becomes a consultant for NASA for the Apollo 18 flight. His persona is well developed and getting to know him is a pleasure. He is all business when on the job, but knows how to relax. Kaz is the main character the story follows from the ground during the flight.

When the story moves into space, the character that sets the tone is Chad Miller, the backup commander for the Apollo 18 mission after the prime commander was killed in a helicopter crash a month before launch. He is an interesting character who takes his responsibilities seriously. He, as any commander should, sets the tone for the flight, which differs from the original commander’s style. As the story unfolds, we learn Miller has more than a few skeletons in his closet. Miller is the character most responsible for adding intrigue and conflict to the story, making him the center of attention for all off-world activities.

While Kaz and Chad are the most central characters to the tale, there are others that add even more to the ill-fated mission that would be Apollo 18. Hadfield does a great job giving enough background information to make this an engaging story a real page-turner.

Spaceflight isn't easy. No matter how routine NASA made it look, there are always little things that can go wrong. On the Apollo 13 mission, it was the failure of a tiny capacitor that nearly doomed three astronauts to death on their way to the moon. In more modern times, the failure of a seal on a solid rocket booster, or even a piece of foam hitting the wing of a space shuttle have been causes of disaster. With The Apollo Murders, it is the failure of the human component serving as the main plot point.

It was also fun to go back in time and remember those glorious days of project Apollo. At least they were glorious to me as I watched men walk on the moon at the age of eleven. It was nostalgic for me, but for the modern reader, if you enjoy a good murder mystery that reaches from the Earth to the Moon, this is the book for you.

My takeaway from The Apollo Murders is how one overly ambitious character can put many people in harm's way. Chad Miller is a fictitious character who has divided loyalties and I'm sure he would never actually become a NASA astronaut for many reasons. He is not a team player. He is a loner with a shady background who would probably not have made it through the first round of astronaut selection in the real world. But he sure is an intriguing character in this story.

This book is a spectacular work of historical fiction. I enjoyed it in all aspects and highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys stories based on historical and scientific fact. There is some technical jargon to work through, but the author was kind enough to give brief explanations of the NASA language of science and engineering. I enjoyed this aspect because I felt it added to the authenticity of the adventure Hadfield takes the reader on. The Apollo Murders is a well written, well edited, fast-paced, and entertaining story that is not to be missed by fans of history, intrigue, and edge of the seat reading.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Colonel Chris Hadfield is one of the most seasoned and accomplished astronauts in the world. A multiple New York Times bestselling author, his books have sold over a million copies worldwide. He was the top test pilot in both the US Airforce and the US Navy, and a Cold War fighter pilot intercepting armed Soviet bombers in North American airspace. A veteran of three spaceflights, he crewed the US Space Shuttle twice, piloted the Russian Soyuz, helped build the space station Mir, conducted two space walks, and served as commander of the International Space Station. He was also NASA’s director of operations in Russia. Chris is the co-creator and host of the BBC series Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes? and helped create and host, along with actor Will Smith, the National Geographic Series One Strange Rock. Hadfield's zero-gravity version of David Bowie's Space Oddity - the first music video recorded in space - has more than 50 million views, and his Ted Talk on fear over 10 million. He advises SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, and other space companies, chairs the board of the Open Lunar Foundation, leads the CDL-Space international tech incubator, and teaches a MasterClass on space exploration.

Well, there it is...

Qapla!